Who is Juan Monteon?
His is the name on controversial lawyer Michael Pekin’s lawsuit
which has dominated, divided and disturbed San Benito County’s
political sphere for nearly two years.
Hollister – Who is Juan Monteon?
His is the name on controversial lawyer Michael Pekin’s lawsuit which has dominated, divided and disturbed San Benito County’s political sphere for nearly two years.
But who is the man who put his name to an ongoing suit that has alleged governmental corruption by county supervisors, the planning director and even the district attorney? Not to mention the case that got his attorney arrested after being indicted by the criminal grand jury on five felony charges related to the case.
Monteon, 31, a San Benito County native and bail bondsman for Craig Avila Bail Bonds, was apprised of the lawsuit the same way the rest of the community was – through the local newspapers, he said.
But unlike most people in the community, the story sparked his interest above and beyond keeping tabs on it through the news. He wanted in.
“I’m just trying to get something done that I believe is right,” Monteon said. “And I think more people have woken up and gotten more involved with the government since this has happened. I would hope we all learn from this and next time we vote for officials, we take a little more time to think about who we’re going to elect. Because they have a lot of power.”
Pekin initially filed a suit with the anonymous group Los Valientes in 2003, in an attempt to intervene in a lawsuit surrounding the growth control initiative, Measure G. His attempt was denied, but by that time Pekin had already gone public with allegations that former Supervisor Richard Scagliotti used his position as supervisor to profit financially. District Attorney John Sarsfield, who initiated the grand jury investigation into Pekin, said the allegations against Scagliotti had no merit and refused to prosecute the former supervisor based on Pekin’s complaint. Scagliotti could not be reached for comment Friday.
Although many community members have been interviewed by the District Attorney’s Office concerning their knowledge about the case and who the members of Los Valientes are, Sarsfield said he’s left Monteon alone because he believes his knowledge about the entire affair is limited.
“We don’t pay much attention to Monteon because he’s a straw plaintiff,” Sarsfield said.
But Monteon begs to differ.
After reading news reports on the Los Valientes case, Monteon contacted Pekin, who asked Monteon if he wanted to get involved. Monteon asked to read investigative reports prepared by investigator Dave Henderson about the alleged corruption, and then asked how he could sign up.
“The bottom line is all I’m trying to do is be a citizen that’s going to monitor (the government),” Monteon said. “I just believe in the Henderson reports. I believe it’s a strong report and I believe it’s credible. What am I supposed to do, look away? We’re all involved in this in the community. We’re all in the same boat.”
Monteon said Pekin told him the best way to get involved was to put his name on the suit, which he gladly did. While he knew it might bring him notoriety, he didn’t expect the case would turn into the circus that it has become.
Pekin believes Monteon has handled the publicity the case has received well, although his personal life at times in dissected in the local press. Pekin said he talks to his client regularly and Monteon is always hungry to get as much information on the case as possible.
“He’s looked at the material and he’s been responsible about his commitment to the case,” Pekin said. “He’s young and that’s his future we’re talking about, and he wants it (the alleged governmental corruption) to stop. He took this on as a taxpayer and it’s quite a service he’s performed.”
While Monteon said he’s never had one person come face to face with him and harass him or bother him about his involvement in the case, it is distressing to him that his personal life has become fair game since signing his John Hancock to the suit.
“The bottom line is I’m a target for anything. If I get caught jaywalking I’m going to be in the paper,” he said. “But if you want to pick on my bones, you better look at yours first.”
Monteon was charged with solicitation to commit arson while living in Chico in 1992, which was reduced to a misdemeanor and he pleaded no contest to it. He was charged because he said he knew about an arson but didn’t tell police about it. When they found out he knew but lied to police, they charged him with soliciting. His record was later sealed and expunged, he said, and the charge has no bearing on his life anymore, although the incident has come up in news reports since the case’s inception.
His name also popped up during a court hearing for a domestic violence case, where the suspects involved have thrown around allegations of witchcraft, methamphetamine use and physical and emotional abuse. One of the suspects, Hollister resident Marc Solorio, said that Monteon was at the residence the day a woman was attacked by her boyfriend.
“I have a lot of clients and Marc’s an old high school friend of mine,” he said. “I have clients who are in unfortunate circumstances that put me together with them. I’m around a lot of people. But in the end, it (public scrutiny) doesn’t bother me. I’ve never been a pussycat.”
Monteon believes in the long run his side will emerge victorious, but concedes it has been and will continue to be a long and hard-fought battle. He said he keeps in regular contact with Pekin, who keeps him updated on the almost-weekly twists and turns the case takes. While he has never met Sarsfield or Special Deputy District Attorney John Picone, who oversaw Pekin’s grand jury hearing, any information he knows was gleaned by the prosecutors from a deposition he gave to the county nearly a year ago.
Sarsfield said he hasn’t paid much attention to Monteon throughout the case because he doesn’t believe he knows a thing about it.
“He’s a straw plaintiff. They needed somebody to be a plaintiff in this lawsuit,” Sarsfield said. “I don’t know what his connection is to Pekin or anything else. We don’t consider him of any particular interest because we don’t think he knows anything.”
Sarsfield, who initiated the grand jury investigation into Pekin and has made it his mission to discover the identities of the elusive Los Valientes, doesn’t believe Monteon knows who makes up the anonymous group. But he is determined to unmask them because they are named in a $500,000 civil lawsuit Sarsfield brought against Pekin and his office staff for filing frivolous lawsuits.
But Monteon believes Sarsfield’s interest in prosecuting Pekin so vehemently and going after Los Valientes is based only on simple revenge. Monteon thinks Sarsfield has a personal vendetta against Pekin and that Scagliotti is manipulating his actions against Los Valientes – the group who originally worked with Pekin to bring the allegations against him.
“Who would really want to know (who Los Valientes is)? Richard Scagliotti. So why would Sarsfield be doing that?” Monteon asked. “Maybe Richard is influencing Sarsfield. Richard still has a lot of influence.”
Sarsfield scoffed at Monteon’s assumption and said the only purpose for Monteon and Pekin’s allegations is to sling mud on people they don’t like.
“What else is he going to say?” Sarsfield said. “The state bar opened an investigation (into Pekin’s actions). I think that says it all. Mr. Pekin and Mr. Monteon have been making one accusation after another. But eventually all the chickens will come home to roost.”
